At its core, understading a chapter is understanding the words you are reading. Here are some vocabulary words from chapters 1-7 that will help your comprehension of the first half of the book.
Chapter 1
Dolichocephalic: (adjective) to have a large skull
Parietal: (adjective) pertaining to or forming the walls of any body cavity
Fulsome: (adjective) offensive and distasteful because excessive
Covet: (verb) to have a desire for something
Agile: (adjective) able to move quickly and easily; nimble
Chapter 2
Shrewd: (adjective) having keen insight; clever
Manuscript: (noun) a piece of writing
Forgery: (noun) something forged or altered
Circumspect: cautious; attentive to all possibilities
Wanton: (adjective) lewd, heartless, unjust
Yeoman: (noun) farmer who cultivates his own land
Flagon: (noun) vessel with a ahndle, spout, and lid used to serve liquor
Trencher: (noun) a wooden plate used to serve food or cut it
Anon: (adjective) in a little while, soon
Bemused: (adjective) muddled, stupefied, preoccupied
Inquest: (noun) a judicial inquiry, aided by a jury
Chimerical: (adjective) not possible, impractical
Chapter 3
Apparition: (noun) phatom, ghost, unusual sight
Diabolical: (adjective) wicked, cruel
Vestry: (noun) in a church, a room where vestments are kept and put on
Miry: (adjective) muddy, swampy
Chapter 4
Baronet: (noun) inherited English title
Chapter 6
Bracken: (noun) large, coarse, weedy fern
Mottle: (adjective) marked with spots of different shades
Bramble: (noun) a prickly plant or shurb
Summit: (adjective) highest part, top
Warder: (noun) guard or sentinel
Commutation: (noun) substitution of payment or service
Cairn: (noun) mound of stones serving as a memorial
Crenelate: (verb) fortify with battlement
Dais: (noun) raised platform where speakers of guests may sit or stand
Chapter 7
Efface: (verb) to cancel or destroy
Pallid: (adjective) pale, lacking color
Propitious: (adjective) gracious
Here are some basic questions to consider when reading chapters 1-7. As you read, keep these thoughts in mind and you will have a more basic understanding of how the story is developing.
- As soon as Sherlock Holmes is given the background of the curse of the Baskervilles, he begins his struggle with balancing these supernatural beliefs with his own brand of logical, straigt-forward thinking. How does he manage to cosider the supernatural while still developing a real, down-to-earth solution?
- What role does classism play in the story?
- How do the characters of Holmes and Watson contrast one another? How does the author use these differences to the benefit and build upon the storyline?